Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes is launching a new investigation into the Obama-era decision to approve the sale of American uranium mines to a Russian-backed company according to the Los Angeles Times. (photo credit: Twitter)

Republican House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes is launching a new investigation into the Obama-era decision to approve the sale of American uranium mines to a Russian-backed company according to the Los Angeles Times.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, criticized the new investigations as partisan in nature. “They are designed to distract attention and pursue the President's preferred goal – attackingClintonand Obama,” he said. “This may be good politics, but it is a disservice to the far more important cause of investigating Russian interference in our democracy and protecting our elections in 2018 and beyond from outside influence."

Nunes is using parallel investigations of Democrats to distract from the investigations into Republicans and Donald Trump.

But he and his staff have used his chairmanship to push parallel investigations aimed at Trump’s opponents and critics, including Fusion GPS, the political research firm behind an unverified dossier of allegations about Trump's ties to Russia. Trump and his supporters frequently cite the 2010 purchase of Uranium One by Rosatom, a Russian-run company, as a counter to questions about Russian support for Trump's presidential bid. The State Department was one of nine U.S. departments or agencies that approved the sale, however.